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i buy most of my clothes used. i and for a long time i have divided used clothes stores into 3 categories: thrift, vintage boutique, and upscale re-sale.
thrift stores are cheap with a wide...
i buy most of my clothes used. i and for a long time i have divided used clothes stores into 3 categories: thrift, vintage boutique, and upscale re-sale.
thrift stores are cheap with a wide range of merchandise (e.g. st. vincent de paul). vintage boutiques are more expensive - they are basically charging you for picking out clothes that are popular now and in decent shape. if you have time and your own sense of style, thrifting is more fun. if you're in a hurry and want something that's pretty standard vintage (cowboy shirt, old levi's, etc.), then a vintage boutique can save you time because you know there will be several to choose from.
i have yet to find a thrift store in seattle that i think is as good as some in the bay area.
as far as vintage boutiques go, red light's pretty good, but not that great. i like the one in the u-district better than the one in capital hill. more of a vintage shop than say buffalo exchange, which focuses more on current styles/items. i don't like the amount of new clothing they sell, which has been increasing. i think this jacks up the price of their vintage stuff and changes the kind of staff they have (and thus their vintage knowledge). but, it seems to be the trend in seattle for vintage boutiques to carry new stuff now -- even goodwill does it some now.
i've worked in both thrift and vintage boutique stores. to the people who complained about bag checking -- hello -- people steal a lot from used stores (and worse). once the tag is off, it's impossible to prove they took it from the store, since they could have also owned the same used item.
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She came as a recommendation from a friend. Her office is in Bellevue, but she did a great job helping us look for houses in the Rainier Valley/West Seattle. Even thought we weren't buying in the...
She came as a recommendation from a friend. Her office is in Bellevue, but she did a great job helping us look for houses in the Rainier Valley/West Seattle. Even thought we weren't buying in the high-end, she went out of her way to make her schedule work with ours and provided a lot of helpful insight into the process, construction costs/quality, market and resale (we were first time buyers). She's also just a very nice person.
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We got a bid from the Floor Smith based on the other Judy's book reviews. Their bid was less than the other two we got and Ray, the Owner, was friendly and helpful.
When the crew came to our...
We got a bid from the Floor Smith based on the other Judy's book reviews. Their bid was less than the other two we got and Ray, the Owner, was friendly and helpful.
When the crew came to our house to star work, they were late, and did not bring any stains that were in the color family we requested (warm, medium red/brown). They told us these were the only stains, period (contrary to Ray's statement that they could make just about any color).
When Ray called to check in on the work, he said there were in fact other stains, but that we would have to go buy them and bring them to the job site that afternoon if we wanted them to use one. I managed to arrange for a sub and leave work to do this - picking up a stain at Home Depot, but it was a hassle.
Some of these problems could perhaps be alleviated if the owner went to each site at the start of work, or, if at least one member of each crew had more of a customer service focus, and perhaps a little more English fluency (the crew barely spoke to us at all, even the leader, when we were trying to talk to him).
When the work was done (on time), the floors looked great. We had some damaged areas and they were much improved. The grain in the wood really pops out now. People have commented on how good they look. And, they left the job site clean.
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